Two Catchers, One Pitcher
by Kaesteranya
Summary: These are drabbles and standalone oneshots for Rio, Junta and Kazu. Some of them will definitely be porny.
1. Where he has gone, KazuJunta

**My pillow won't tell me where he has gone**

_Theme date: November 3, 2006._

_Spoilers ahoy for the Tosei Arc of the manga, folks._

They left the stadium together after the game — Junta had let his catcher take him home because Kazuki had insisted that he shouldn't be alone that night and Junta himself wasn't sure whether he _wanted_ to be alone. The car ride back was a sullen affair, with Kazu in the front seat and Junta slumped in the back, leaning his head against the passenger window. Junta wasn't up to talking and Kazu couldn't find the right things to say.

"Take a shower first," Kazu said, as soon as they were alone in his room. "I'll wait for you to finish." His pitcher wordlessly complied. It was hard for Kazu to resist the urge to go in after the younger boy, just to make sure that he would be all right. He ended up pacing about instead, and stopping close to the door to listen to the sound of the water running. A full hour passed before Junta finally came out, with his head bowed and his fists clenched.

"I'm sorry. I'm… I'm just really, really sorry."

"Stop with that already," Kazu softly returned. He took Junta by the shoulders and peered down, trying to meet with the pitcher's gaze. "We lost as a team. If there's anyone to blame, it would have to be me."

Junta only mumbled and shook his head; a moment later, he wrapped his arms around Kazu's neck and pressed himself against his catcher's body, as though he wanted to tuck himself away from sight. When he trembled, Kazu sat them both on his bed and gathered what he could of Junta into his arms. The younger boy's skin was cold to touch.

They shared a bed that evening — it would be the last time they would ever fall asleep in each other's arms. Sometimes, in the nights to follow, Junta would curl up in his own bed and hug his pillow, to better breathe its scent in and try to remember what it had been like to smell Kazu on it.


	2. Ponderosa, RioJunta

**Ponderosa**

_Theme date: July 4, 2007._

_Set after Tosei's crushing defeat at the hands of Nishiura._

It was not that Rio didn't notice the way Junta and Kazu had been around each other, but more of that he chose not to see it in the first place. Baseball was a sport, and fondness could easily be passed off as that special kind of camaraderie that a team like theirs required when they were out on the field. Looking at it that way made it easier for Rio to get by — that way, he wouldn't get jealous every time he would see the pair from a distance and note the way Kazu rested his palm on the middle of Junta's back, or that particular smile that Junta had for no one else but Kazu.

He knew that Kazu leaving the team would cause problems, but Rio had not been prepared to see just how badly it would affect Junta… that the pitcher was pretty much dependent on Kazu's support had been obvious from the beginning, but to fall apart and leave a game he had claimed to love all because one person was missing meant something else altogether. That was the only time that Rio had learned to accept what Junta and Kazu had shared with one another, and it had hurt, but he told himself it was necessary step towards what he really intended to do.

At a later date, as he pressed in close and deep and watched Junta's eyes darken to black, Rio wondered if he was seeing and hearing and sleeping with the same Junta that Kazu had, just months ago. He wondered, just as they climaxed, whether Kazu had heard that same voice cry out his name.


	3. View from the afternoon, KazuJuntaRio

**Ookiku Furikabutte. View from the afternoon.**

_This one takes place during Chapter 7 of the manga… I've forgotten the anime episode equivalent though. I would also like to express my love for the scanlation group Raep Time, for without their scans, I would not have any material for this fic. is borrowing their translations of the lines for this one!_

_Please note that the title is taken from the 31 Days theme for July 16, 2008._

* * *

They go and watch Musashino Daichi's game against Urawasougo together – or more like, Kazu and Junta go together and Rio ambles along behind them, close enough to keep them from asking questions and far enough to preserve his own peace of mind. Rio's familiar with this sort of setup, and just a few months back, he hadn't though much of it.

They find a nice set of benches near the back of the stadium, where the wind's perfect and they're tucked neatly away under the partial roof of the place, safe from the oppressive heat of the sun. Kazu and Junta sit together, of course. Rio selects the bench right behind them, of course. He tells himself that he likes his space and there's no point in crowding when there's more than enough area to stretch out. Besides, sitting with Kazu and Junta the way they used to sit back in middle school is a little like turning invisible against one's will these days.

"That's the one, right? Check out the scoreboard."

He almost misses the fact that Junta's talking to him now – his upperclassman is almost always talking to no one else but Kazu these days, even when the three of them are together. Rio does not know why he notices this more often. He's still not sure whether they've always acted like that and he's just noticed now or if they've only done it recently and he just happens to be old enough to understand what it might mean and not really like it too much.

"Hey, Rio, can you read those letters?"

"…Come on, Jun-san. You think I'm a complete moron, don't you?"

"But you _are_ a moron."

So Rio narrows his eyes, pretends to be irritated and indulges Junta, half-knowing that it's not going to get him very far but doing it anyway because he's half-hopeful too, in some sense (read: that Junta will notice and approve and maybe indulge him a little more too). He knows he's being meaner than usual, snarkier than usual, but of course, Junta does not notice and Kazu takes it all in stride. Kazu's been taking a lot in stride lately – it must be because this will be his last year with the team, and his last tournament as Junta's catcher.

Rio is happy about this, and he does not realize it or come to terms with his reasons why until later. He was an average teenage boy with average teenage considerations until just a few months back, until he started thinking about and wanting some not-so-average teenage things.

"Look, they've taken the lead…"

"…end for Musashino."

"…teams are seeded so it can't be very soon."

They're talking over his head again, and he catches snippets of their conversation. He's supposed to be asleep, but it's a little too warm (blame it on Kazu – the guy's too damned big and blocking the wind from reaching him) and his uniform's a little too stiff and Junta's _right there_ and his voice just goes through him, sharp and loud even though Junta's tone is far from harsh. It might be because Junta's voice sounds nice – he always sounds nice. There are a lot of things about him that are nice.

There's a shift in tone. Junta takes a little too long to reply to a joke Kazu's made about Haruna Motoki and Junta and pitching, and Kazu laughs. Rio's almost tempted to get up and cut in with something smart, but he can't think of anything suitable and the moment's lost.

"Rio, Haruna's on the mound!"

And he's up sometime later. They have their three-way (two-way, plus one) conversation again about neutral topics, and when it turns into a Kazu-Junta show, Rio isn't surprised at all.

_I wish you'd stop with the married-couple comedy act. It's grossing me out._

He mutters it in spite of himself, but they don't hear him at all, and they don't stop, and he shuts his eyes because it's the easier thing to do. Later on, when they're leaving the stadium, Kazu offers him a ride back to school. Rio waves him off and takes the bus there instead.


	4. Five ways to die trying, RioJunta

**Five ways to die trying.**

_Spoilers for the Tosei Arc of the manga and beyond do apply for this one, folks. The title's taken from the 31 Days theme for October 8, 2007._

* * *

**I.**

He saw them go home together from their game against Nishiura: Kazu ushering Junta into the car, Junta following Kazu with his head low and his eyes darkened. He was tired, worn out from the way things had come to pass, but he could not sleep, could not do anything but lie back in his bed, flipping his cellular phone open and shut.

It was midnight when he finally decided to text Junta, just to see how the pitcher was doing. He fell asleep a little past 3 AM, after spending hours staring at the screen, looking at the word "EMPTY" plastered in his inbox.

* * *

**II.**

He had not seen it coming, not really – Junta was back in school with the start of the term, a little more distant and quiet, perhaps, but _there _and relating with people whenever they ran into him. When he did not show up during for their first practice session, nobody really asked questions. Junta was a pretty regular guy: regular guys had to be given their moments too. Then there was another glaring absence, and another, and another. By the second week, their coach gruffly remarked that he ought to not waste his breath with the role call when it came down to Junta's name from there on.

Rio would not tell anyone this, but he sees Junta sometimes while they're practicing, looking down from one of the windows. He tries not to stare too much though, and it's not because he's afraid Junta will notice. It's because the look in Junta's eyes scares him.

* * *

**III.**

There's talk (grumbling) among the freshmen, talk that the upperclassmen only half-heartedly quell. "Junta Spotting" becomes a new topic during break time, a means to feed the animosity when the coach isn't looking.

Rio knows that it's his job to protest, to say something in his friend's defense. Instead, Rio only mumbles a few contrary words, shuts his eyes and ignores it.

* * *

**IV.**

He has never gone to the school library before that point, so when he finds himself there and he looks up and realizes that Junta's on the other side of the shelf, Rio wonders, just for a moment, if this was the big man's way of telling him to study (cram) more. It should have been easy to speak up or wave – to just do _something_ to catch the other boy's attention – but Rio finds himself frozen in place, and he is standing there, mouth open, eyes following as Junta takes a few books and walks off, disappearing into another set of shelves.

When he finally mustered up the courage to start visiting the convenience store that he knows Junta frequents because of their yakisoba buns, Junta was nowhere in sight. The lady makes it a point to tell him that he misses Junta every single time he drops by, just by a few, crucial minutes.

* * *

**V.**

It was only when he was on the brink of giving up that Rio finally encountered Junta again: they were at the train station, on different sides of the same track. It was that one, blessed hour when all the adults were at their designated workplaces and most of the kids were attending cram school or busy with club activities. There's no one around but the two of them, standing exactly opposite of each other, surrounded by empty benches.

"Hey."

"…Hey."

"I guess the train's late."

"Mm."

Rio looked down at his feet. Junta shifted his bag from one shoulder to the other. They don't speak again. When the train comes, they sit in different cars.


	5. Neglected Souls, Rio

**Neglected souls.**

_The title is taken from the 31 Days theme for November 7, 2007._

_

* * *

  
_

Riou is starting to think of his relationship with Junta as something like a revolving door that leads to nowhere, with him, Junta and Kazu stuck in it, walking around, forever and ever. Sometimes, they'll see each other through the glass. More often than not, however, it's nothing but a reflection, a trick of the light.

What he sees, sometimes, on rainy nights when he's in the neighborhood and heading home from somewhere, is no illusion, in as much as he wishes it was. What he sees is the light in Junta's bedroom come on, and two silhouettes moving about just past the curtains, both of them familiar. What he sees is his own two feet afterward, moving along faster and faster until he's practically sprinting back home.

One week later, though, he's in Junta's room much the way Kazu was and as Junta pulls him to the bed, he wonders if Kazu is now in the position he was just seven days back, looking up at the window, watching their shadows. He probably isn't running. Only Riou runs.


	6. No dust upon the furniture of love

**N****o dust upon the furniture of love.**

_This is set in no particular point of the canon – just, generally, after their team has lost a game against another school._

_The title is taken from the 31 Days theme for January 27, 2009._

_

* * *

  
_

He falls onto you the moment you're both back in the locker room and very much alone, and maybe you should be saying something or asking him what the heck this is all about, but you're making some rather undignified sounds instead, as you watch him kiss your mouth/sit you down on the bench/shove you against a bunch of lockers/slide a hand down the front of your uniform/make quick work of the zipper of your pants.

By the time you're coherent enough to stutter out his name, it's a little too late, isn't it? Because he's kneeling on the hard floor between your legs, licking his lips, eyeing your crotch.

"J-J-J-Junta-san!"

"You're still wearing boxers at your age?"

_What's that supposed to mean?!_ is what you're supposed to say next, but he's slipped your cock into his mouth and you can feel the roof of his mouth and oh god you're shaking and god it's hot and god _the rest of the team's just outside—_

You ought to care: really, you ought to. But it's kind of really difficult for you now, because the way Junta moves his tongue over your dick is kind of really demanding every ounce of your attention...

...don't know how much time passes, only that it couldn't have been long because nobody came in and after Junta pulls back to spit your cum out and wipe his lips clean with the back of his hand, he's smiling, and he only smiles that way when he's not-so-secretly laughing at you.

"You're too easy."

"You're just an asshole."

Then he's kissing you again, and he's a really good kisser, and you wish you could hate him for it.

You also wish, sometime later, that his eyes weren't so empty-looking, that, when you both step back out to rejoin the rest of the group, he won't end up going right back to staring at his cellular phone, waiting for Kazu to call him, knowing that he won't.

Later comes, though, and his eyes are still empty, and you're still stuck at the fringe, watching him flip his mobile open and shut, open and shut, and forget, once again, that you're there in the first place.


End file.
